Academic Program

Curriculum Enhancement

During the first two years of the project, US faculty from the University of Notre Dame will team teach a new specialty module in rural development and NAFTA markets to Mexican graduate students at the University of Guadalajara. In the third year of the program, teaching of the new specialty will be taken over by the Mexican faculty returned from visiting fellowships at Notre Dame, where they participated in the working group on rural development and NAFTA with the ND faculty who will teach the modules in the first two years.

The new specialty on rural development and NAFTA markets will comprise courses taught in individual modules to complete 70 teaching contact hours (3 credit hours) for a target of 10 Masters students each year in Guadalajara. Students enrolled in this specialty will be second-year Masters students in Economics, Business and Economic Studies, or from similar Masters programs whose students qualify for this special option. The special area of study will comprise a common core course of 25 contact hours to be followed by two alternative tracks of three course modules each of 15 contact hours per module.

In 2007, the following course was taught by ND business faculty at UG:

NAFTA and business plans – Instructor: Juan Rivera

In 2006, the following courses were taught by ND business and economics faculty at UG:

International Marketing - Instructor: Michael Etzel
Economic Development - Instructor: Jaime Ros
Development, Ethics, and Migration - Instructor: Daniel Groody
NAFTA, Agribusiness and Markets - Instructor: Juan Rivera
Entrepreneurship and Business Planning - Instructor: David Hayes

In the summer of 2005, the following courses were taught by ND business and economics faculty at UG:

Finance and Business Planning - Instructor: Lee Tavis
NAFTA, Agribusiness and Markets - Instructor: Juan Rivera
Macroeconomics and International Trade - Instructor: Kwan Kim

United States-Mexico: University Partnerships for Prosperity Conference, held in Guadalajara, Mexico on June 29- July 1, 2005 http://www.aascu.org/ALO/ties/upp05/conference05.htm

Training of Trainers

During the three years of the proposed project, seven faculty members from the business and economics masters programs at the University of Guadalajara will receive academic-year visiting fellowships at the University of Notre Dame. During their stay at ND, the UG visiting faculty will be hosted by the Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies (both semesters) where they will:

participate in classes and develop syllabi (first semester),
work closely with the instructors of the Entrepreneurship specialty in developing course material useful and applicable to the specific subjects, and adapted to the economic and social circumstances of the Mexican business environment,
receive training in teaching well with technology through ND's Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning (both semesters),
participate in a working group of ND project faculty and graduate students on rural development and NAFTA sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies (both semesters),
participate in selection (first semester) and training (second semester) of the MBA interns whose internships in Mexico they will supervise in the subsequent summer term,
participate in the Kellogg Institute's Seminar and Lecture series (both semesters), and
work on individual and collaborative research projects (both semesters).

Field Internships

Student teams from both participating universities will work with representatives from a variety of organizations - such as the NGOs Fundación Mexicana para el Desarrollo Rural and Fundación Produce, the Association of Corn Agricultural Producers of the State of Jalisco, the Secretariat for Rural Development of the State of Jalisco, the Guadalajara Chamber of Commerce, the Society of Rural Producers, the Union of Ejidos, and the Association of Industrialist of the State of Jalisco - to facilitate the creation and/or improvement of small business units in the rural or urban centers of the economic region around Guadalajara.

In the summer of 2007, the following ND MBA student will intern at UG:

Elisabeth Tetrick

In the summer of 2006, the following ND MBA students interned at UG:

Esther Louise Daza
Naiomi C. Lundman
Michael Delany

Working Group

The working group will offer a platform to hold interdisciplinary, cross-border conversations and plan collaborative projects or events focusing on rural agricultural development in Mexico. It will probe conditions that promote or restrain development. To ensure the group's work is rooted in present-day issues, two associations of small agricultural producers from western Mexico will be among the research subjects. Click here for meeting minutes.

Courses

UG visiting faculty will work closely with ND instructors, attend class meetings and learn about course materials and approaches, so they can teach those subjects and apply those entrepreneurship techniques to small business units upon their return to Mexico, after completing their academic year at ND. Courses under consideration are:
Fall

MGT 626 - Venture Capital Fundamentals

Instructors: Teri F. Willey; Theresa B. Sedlack
The objective of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the methods and approaches used by venture capitalists to evaluate new business ventures and to develop and negotiate investment terms. The emphasis on the perspective of the venture capitalist distinguishes this course from other courses that emphasize the perspective of the entrepreneur.

Spring

MGT 320.01 - Introduction to Entrepreneurship

Instructor: David Hayes
This course examines the entrepreneurial way of thinking and acting - the entrepreneur's perspective on business and the world at large. Course projects provide challenging entrepreneurial projects designed to give a real sense of the anxiety, uncertainty and exhilaration that come with entrepreneurial endeavors.

MGTE 419.01, MGT 657.01 - Family Business

Instructor: David Hayes
Family-controlled businesses are characterized by challenges that threaten their continuity and distinct core competencies that can result in unique competitive advantages. The course will explore and analyze family business continuity challenges and best management, family and government practices for leading family-owned businesses.

MGT 420(N) - Intro to Entrepreneurship

Instructor: Mark Lange
Introduction to Entrepreneurship will take students through the process of conceiving, creating and managing a business. The goal is to provide a solid background with practical application of important concepts for non-business majors who may have limited experience in an entrepreneurial environment.

MGT 422/622 - Funding New Ventures

Instructor: Mark D. Noeldner
This course examines financing the start-up of a new venture, along with other business financing methods. Key objectives will be investigating different capital structures and in detailing the sources and uses of funds in a new venture.

MGTE 423.01/623.01 - New Ventures and the Law

Instructor: Joe Holt
The goals of this course are to illustrate the issues to consider and address when initiating a new business venture and to encourage the student(s) to reflect upon starting/running/owning their own business after due deliberation.

MGT 428, MBA 628 - Social Entrepreneurship

Instructor: Rachel Farrell
This course will explore the innovative concepts, practices and strategies related to Social Entrepreneurship in six weeks. It attempts to instill the entrepreneurial attitude by challenging students' current thinking and assumptions about what works and why.

MGTE 429.01 - Entrepreneurship and Business Planning

Instructors: David Hayes; Carolyn A. Boulger
This capstone course provides the opportunity for students to draw on the many skills and concepts learned from their business education to develop a comprehensive business plan for an entrepreneurial start-up endeavor. The business plan will be written to serve as a financial proposal suitable for presentation to capital sources, a roadmap for successful start-up and an operating guide for the business.

MGT 620.01 - Entrepreneurship

Instructor: Jeffrey A. Bernel
The goals of this course are to give MBA candidates a broad understanding of the field of Entrepreneurship and an introduction to the critical tools necessary to create a successful new venture. This course is designed to simulate the "real life" activities of entrepreneurs in the start-up stage of a new venture concept to determine if a demand exists for the product or service.

MGT 624.01 - Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries

Instructors: Jim Davis; Jeff Bernel; Bill Nichols; Rev. Oliver Williams, csc
By the end of this class, students will have an understanding of entrepreneurship in developing countries, specifically the countries of South Africa, Mexico and Jamaica. The course's mission includes furthering the students' education and assisting partner NGOs in better serving their respective constituencies.